Given that there was very little in the way of pre-season testing for Ma or his TECHEETAH team, it was always going to be a tough start to the new championship.
However, given the potency of the Renault powertrain, the latent potential was there. The closest Ma came to unlocking this was in second free practice in Hong Kong, where he was a promising eighth fastest.
But when the chips were down he didn’t deliver. Over his three races his average start position was 18th. Given that Jean-Eric Vergne was fighting for Super Pole in the sister car, this was a disappointment and when he crashed on his hot lap in Buenos Aires the writing was on the wall.
Ahead of the next race his seat had been taken over by Esteban Gutierrez and after three races, with a best finish of 15th, Ma’s Formula E season was over.